The reduction of injuries to potato tubers through the use of padding materials

Field and laboratory tests were conducted to measure the effectiveness of several materials as barrel pads. The use of some type of pad in the bottoms of barrels reduced the percentage of tubers which sustained major (grade) injuries. Sponge rubber one-quarter inch thick was somewhat more effective in preventing tuber injuries than any of the other materials tested. Sheet rubber one-eighth inch thick, a 100-pound burlap potato sack, one-half inch thick creped wadding with a covering of kraft paper on the top surface, and one-half inch thick balsa wood were slightly inferior to the one-quarter inch thick sponge rubber. The presence of a one-eighth inch thick layer of dirt on a pad or surface which was struck by falling tubers caused considerably more injuries than when the pad or surface was free of dirt. Dirt-covered pads caused fewer injuries than a dirt-free barrel bottom with tubers of the same weight and temperature. Tubers of the same weight sustained approximately six per cent more external injuries at temperatures in the range of 42° to 44° F than at temperatures in the range of 53° to 56° F. The relationship of tuber temperature to internal injuries was not determined. The percentage of tubers which sustained either external or internal injuries increased with indiiidual tuber weight. It may be concluded that when tubers at the same temperature strike the same object the mechanical energy content of the tubers is the external factor which determines whether the tubers will sustain either external or internal injuries.